The intelligence and cyber crime fighters of tomorrow are being sourced by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of a multi-million pound recruitment campaign.

In its first major drive to recruit new officers just two weeks after it went live, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched the first phase of a campaign to recruit up to 400 trainee cyber and intelligence officers over the next year.

From Day One, the new recruits will undergo a two-year training programme to become fully-fledged NCA officers and help the agency lead the UK’s fight to cut serious and organised crime.

As intelligence officers, trainees will help enhance the NCA’s knowledge of organised crime across the UK and overseas, while the cyber trainees will have the chance to work within the newly created National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) using some of the latest cutting-edge technology.

Phil Gormley: deputy director general at the National Crime Agency

The posts will be based at the NCA’s offices in Warrington and London.

Cutting serious and organised crime

At the NCA, successful recruits will join a team of more than 4,000 specially trained officers working to cut serious and organised crime – from smashing multi-million pound, cross-border criminal networks and gangs and cracking intricate global cyber crime through to tracking down child sex abusers in the hidden web and uncovering some of the most complex international fraud.

Nick S is a 27-year-old technical officer within the cyber unit of the NCA. He says those with “ambition, a thirst for knowledge and an inquisitive mind” should consider a career in the NCA.

Nick explained: “I thought joining this organisation would be a great way to pit my wits against the top criminals. Since joining I have realised just how crucial our work is in protecting the UK. Each day brings a new challenge and we’re pushing the boundaries of law enforcement capability. It’s rewarding to see people reading an article on the train about an operation I contributed to.”

He added: “It’s an exciting time to be in the NCA and I look forward to playing my part in its future. After all, we’re the Internet generation and we have so much to offer in such a fast-moving world.”

Details of the roles on offer

The vacancies, which attract a £22,407 starting salary (rising to £24,717 after two years’ training), are open to candidates over 18 years old.

The NCA is keen to stress that it’s looking for ambition and aptitude in the area of work rather than qualifications. For instance, young people who have left school or college with limited qualifications could still be strong candidates providing they can prove their knowledge or interest in the cyber or intelligence world.

Online applications for the posts will open at 8.00 am on 1 November via a specially created website at http://www.ncacareers.com

Applications will close once 8,000 forms have been received.

The initial part of the recruitment process will ask candidates to complete a security-focused questionnaire as a pre-qualifier which ensures only candidates who are eligible to apply are able to progress.

Those who move to the next stage will then undergo a number of other online assessments to test their numerical, verbal and logic reasoning.

The final stages

It’s expected that more than 1,000 candidates will make it through to the final stage during the first two weeks of December, at which point they will be invited to attend an Assessment Centre.

The NCA’s deputy director general, Phil Gormley, said: “I want roles at the NCA to be the career of choice for people wanting a future in law enforcement. The NCA will be vastly different to those that came before it, and we need to build our crime-fighting capacity and capability.”

Gormley continued: “This trainee programme shows that we are opening the NCA up to new people and new ideas, diversifying our workforce and modernising the workplace while at the same time transferring expertise gained through years of experience.”